Pastor’s Desk ~ November 5, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, I would like to share some recent developments regarding SVHS, our parish high school. The following applies only to our high school, not our elementary school. Our parish has had a school, in one form or another, since the late 1850’s, and has been graduating high school students at least since 1918. […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ October 22, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Iā€™d like to mention briefly a few parish matters that I hope will be of some interest, if not good news. 1)Ā  The October Mass Count will continue on Sundays through this month. Soon thereafter, average figures will be provided as to how many people attended each one of our October Sunday […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ October 15, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, This weekend I am happy to announce that our former Parochial Vicar, Fr. Andrew Pacheco, will be covering the Saturday 7:00 p.m. Mass in Spanish and the Sunday 7:30 a.m. Mass in English. At the same time, Fr. Stuart will be covering for Fr. Pacheco in Fort Bragg. This will provide each […]

Pastor’s Desk

Dear Fellow Parishioners, October Mass Count:Ā Ā  As I mentioned at some Masses last weekend, this is the month for the annual October Mass Count. The purpose is to count the number of regular attendees at Sunday Masses all over the United States. October was selected as a typical, normal month: school is in session, there […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ September 24, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, We have now entered into the season of Autumn, from the Latin word, ā€œautumnus,ā€ but whose deeper roots are obscure ā€“ possibly Etruscan. While in the U.S. we tend to use ā€œAutumnā€ and ā€œFallā€ interchangeably, the name ā€œFallā€ is generally not used outside of North America. Depending on geography and culture, real-life […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ September 10, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, As I walked to my car after a school meeting at about 8:30 pm last Wednesday, I could feel the slight chill of Fall approaching, my favorite season of the year. The feasts of the Church reflect the bittersweet impending Fall with a mix of liturgical memorials: The Triumph of the Cross […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ August 27, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, The coming week contains the feast day ā€“ August 28th ā€“ of one of the most notable and important saints in the history of the Church: St. Augustine of Hippo. (ā€œHippoā€ is not a reference to the pachyderm, but to Hippo Regius, where he served as bishop, the modern-day Annaba, the third-largest […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ August 13, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Mid-August is here, school vacations are coming to an end, and the start of religious education and school are just around the corner. As I mentioned at Masses, I spent most of my vacation at my favorite resort, Rancho Back-yardo. While doing so, I watched or read many, many news stories about […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ July 2, 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, While Independence Day is the official title of our national holiday, it is now more commonly known as Fourth of July ā€“ a nickname which reveals nothing of its significance. This year, it is the 247th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the First Session of the Second […]

Pastor’s Desk ~ June 25 2023

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Weā€™ve heard the folk saying, ā€œMarch comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.ā€ This year, the lamb-like weather has continued ever since, as we just passed almost imperceptibly into summer. In the past, late spring and the early days of summer have been uncharacteristically mild, even cool only […]